Privatization would lead to alcohol-related problems

Everyone who cares about the safety of our community should watch closely as the House Liquor Control Committee considers Rep. Mike Turzai's bill to privatize the PA Wine and Spirits Shoppes.

Rep. Turzai's original bill, House Bill 11, would eliminate the stores in one step. But the committee is considering other provisions that would lead to the slow destruction of thousands of jobs and the loss of millions of dollars in state revenue. These steps would greatly increase the number of stores and destroy an important and unmatched system of preventing sales to minors. We now have 620 stores. With the proposed changes to HB 11 we would have more than 10,000 sales outlets.

This number dwarfs even the largest number of private retail liquor and wine outlets projected in the report that Public Financial Management prepared for Gov. Tom Corbett.

It flies in the face of this year's report by the Centers for Disease Control that said increased access leads to increased consumption and increased alcohol-related problems and deaths. Why would we ignore the advice of our country's premiere public health watchdog?

The PA Wine and Spirits Shoppes are not broke. We shouldn't risk our communities, jobs and reliable revenues on a fix they don't need.